Thunder God Sword Obtained

"Secret technique?"

The Third Hokage's heart stirred, thinking back to the Eight Gates Kyoichi had used during the exam.

Moreover.

He remembered Kyoichi had mentioned it was Might Duy's technique?

Who was Might Duy...

The Third Hokage sank into thought.

After a few seconds of pondering, he snapped back to reality and looked up to ask, "Did you create the Eight Gates together with Might Duy?"

"No, that was Senior Duy's twenty years of bitter training and self-creation—it has nothing to do with me. My technique is called the Seven Heavenly Breathing Methods, which I came up with while self-studying Medical Knowledge."

As Kyoichi spoke, he explained the principles of the Seven Heavenly Breathing Methods and the First Activation.

"Body activation? You actually developed this level of taijutsu!"

The Third Hokage was taken aback after hearing this.

Absorbing oxygen to activate the body was indeed a clever angle, but he quickly realized this technique placed heavy demands on the physique.

If physical fitness was insufficient, inhaling too much oxygen could instead lead to poisoning.

He thought it over, took a deep breath, and said, "This technique of yours is an S-rank forbidden technique. Unless absolutely necessary, never use it!"

"This Humble One understands. Currently, Senior Duy and I are figuring out how to modify it, lowering its threshold and functionality to see if it can be slightly popularized as an A-rank forbidden technique."

Kyoichi casually laid out his and Might Duy's ideas.

S-rank forbidden techniques were prohibited from circulation, while A-rank ones could be taught to elite Chunin and above.

If they could adapt it successfully, that would be a major achievement!

Good deeds had to leave a name.

And besides.

Maybe they could even apply for research funding?

"Good thinking, but putting it into practice will bring no small trouble."

The Third Hokage said with a headache.

"Lord Hokage, please rest assured. I will alter the breathing method so that even if outsiders obtain a basic activated taijutsu, they won't be able to deduce the Seven Heavenly Breathing Methods."

After saying this, Kyoichi thought for a moment and added, "If we can develop it, at least in the next war, our ninja will suffer fewer casualties."

"You have a point. We can't give up eating for fear of choking... How about this: the First Activation won't be recorded for now. Submit it once you and Duy develop the A-rank version."

The Third Hokage took out a scroll from beneath the desk.

After forming hand seals to unseal it.

A sword appeared on the table.

The Thunder God Sword!

"Actually, this sword was a weapon commissioned by the teacher in his early years. Though powerful, its material is very fragile. Use it carefully—no need to return it. I only hope you'll treat it well."

The Third Hokage handed the sword over.

Kyoichi hadn't expected the Third Hokage to give it outright instead of lending it.

Not only that, Hiruzen Sarutobi thought for a moment and added, "Feel free to visit the Hokage Building's library more often. Though there are no ninjutsu there, the knowledge within is certainly more complete than what you've gathered piecemeal."

"Thank you, Lord Hokage!"

Kyoichi was both surprised and delighted.

He had originally planned to snatch one or two swords from the Seven Swordsmen later, but the Third Hokage directly gifting him the Thunder God Sword was an unexpected bonus.

Of course.

He still planned to rob the Seven Swordsmen.

Who would complain about having too many swords?

Not just the Seven Swordsmen's weapons—the Kusanagi Sword also tempted him. He just didn't know where the Kusanagi Clan was, or he'd have already gone to get the Kusanagi Sword instead of coming to the Third Hokage.

"Tomorrow's exam, and the day after that is the team assignment. Make sure you attend."

Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled.

After Kyoichi left, he pondered for a long time, then began searching through archives. After a long search, he found nothing.

Reluctantly.

He called for an Anbu ninja.

"Help me find Might Duy's records."

"Lord Hokage, Might Duy is a Genin. You won't find him in the Chunin archives."

"Ah?"

Might Duy was a Genin?

Hiruzen Sarutobi was bewildered.

He didn't doubt the truth of Kyoichi's words. The Eight Inner Gates were extremely dangerous, and researching this technique required not only a theoretical foundation but also persistent training.

The process was very long; it couldn't be accomplished in under a decade.

How old was Kyoichi?

So, the Eight Gates definitely couldn't have been his original creation; it must indeed have been invented by this Might Duy.

But.

A ninja capable of creating such an S-rank forbidden technique was merely an ordinary genin?

At that moment, the Third Hokage felt his work had been severely lacking.

There was talent like this in the village, yet he had never noticed it, only realizing after others repeatedly reminded him—yes, he figured it out now, Kyoichi was deliberately recommending Might Duy, which was why he kept bringing him up.

He had an Anbu ninja help find Might Duy's information, read it over carefully several times, and immediately understood why he didn't remember this person.

Unlike Kosuke.

Duy truly saw himself as a genin, always taking D-rank missions, never even attempting C-rank except when participating in war.

This...

He could create the Eight Gates?

"I've failed in my duty, failed indeed!"

The Third Hokage sighed.

Konoha had been at war for years, always short on chunin and jonin, yet such great talent had been buried by him among the genin.

Kyoichi left the Hokage Building with the Thunder God Sword.

Twice.

If the Third Hokage still hadn't caught on by now, then he was truly old and slow-witted, and might as well step down early.

The current Might Duy was somewhat different from the original.

Although he still specialized only in the Eight Gates, he had also learned one or two of the complementary taijutsu that Guy had created, and had fully mastered the Konoha Whirlwind series of taijutsu.

The current Might Duy was absolutely qualified to be a jonin.

This was without even having trained super-regular taijutsu like Morning Peacock or Daytime Tiger, which came after the Six Gates. If he did, he could rank among the top elite jonin.

So.

A ninja this strong, left to gather dust?

The Third Hokage was far too foolish.

Of course.

This wasn't the first foolish thing he'd done. Before, when Hatake Sakumo committed suicide, he hadn't stepped in to stop the public opinion, letting things develop to that extent.

If it was intentional, that was sinister.

If unintentional, that was incompetence.

Either way, it proved the Third Hokage wasn't a good person.

Even for himself.

Becoming a jonin was simple enough.

But if he wanted to contend for the position of Hokage, there would probably be all sorts of twists and conflicts along the way.

Kyoichi sneered inwardly.

"Forget it, I won't worry about that for now."

The Hokage or whatever was still far off for him. Getting through the next war and the Nine-Tails' Night was the key.

The next day.

After finishing his training, Kyoichi headed to the Ninja Academy.

There was an exam today.

Those applying for early graduation basically had no issues; it was just a formality. But Kyoichi had to come—it seemed the Third Hokage had directly appointed him as the main examiner for ninjutsu.

However, besides him, the accompanying examiners were also quite impressive.

Tekuno, Kurenai's Father.

It was clear the Third Hokage had high expectations for this class.

Soon, the examinees entered.

The first...

Obito?

He wasn't going to be late this time, was he?

Of course.

A full two minutes after the start, the door was finally knocked.

"Teacher? I..."

The moment Obito entered and saw him, his whole body trembled.

He hadn't expected it.

The chief examiner was actually his teacher!

The key point was—

He had actually gone and been late again, damn it!

"Same rules as always. Transformation Jutsu and Clone Technique combined exam. We'll test Substitution Technique later."

"Yes!"

Obito took a deep breath.

He couldn't embarrass his teacher!

He quickly formed hand seals. After a fluctuation of chakra, two clones appeared beside him. At the same time, the clones and his original body transformed into Kyoichi and the other two co-examiners' appearances.

"The other two have differences in height and width, but as for mine—didn't you notice I'm carrying an extra ninja tool today?"